Overall, Raiden does not take advantage of the Jaguar’s hardware, neither graphically, nor in the sound department. The level design is average at best, with the landscape featuring generic warehouses and terrain. But what it lacks in flash, it makes up for in substance, with responsive controls and interesting weapons. Jaguar owners looking for fast action fun should look no further. Raiden is good stuff.

Once your ship is heavily tooled-up, the action is quite enjoyable - but that enjoyment is shortlived. With frustrating inevitability, it’s only moments before a stray bullet or particularly devious enemy robs you of all your hard-won hardware. With such poor game structure and lack of finesse, Atari would have been better getting Imagitec to write an original shoot 'em up, rather than spending money on such a non-eventful licence. It’s not that Raiden is a bad game; it’s just the wrong game.

Raiden would delight gamesplayers with its graphics, sound and playability if this was 1987, but unfortunately it's 1994 and people expect a lot more. If I wanted a piece of classic nostalgia I would've dug my Spectrum and its games out from the loft.